ALFA ROMEO GT JTS DELIVERS AFFORDABLE PERFORMANCE AND STYLE AT THE MELBOURNE
MOTOR SHOW
The Alfa Romeo GT JTS will make its Melbourne International Motor Show debut on 3 March 2005, providing visitors with a car that delivers award-winning style – it is the 2005 winner of the Coupe award for the World’s Most Beautiful Car – but at a price that makes the Alfa Romeo GT JTS surprisingly affordable.
“The Alfa Romeo GT JTS is a truly surprising car,” says Kevin Wall, General Manager for Alfa Romeo in Australia. “On one hand there are the million dollar looks, the plush interior and the list of standard equipment as long as your arm, but if a customer was to offer a million dollars, we would be forced to return $935,050 because at $64,950 the Alfa Romeo GT JTS has the million dollar looks without the million dollar price tag!”
As with the Alfa GT 3.2 litre, which was on sale in Australia before Europe, this market was one of the first to get the Alfa GT with the combination of the JTS engine and the Selespeed gearbox, thanks to the fact that 80 per cent of Alfa Romeos sold in Australia are equipped with the sequential manual gearbox that owes its origins to the Ferrari Formula One team.
The 2.0 litre 121 kW engine is the same lean burn, direct petrol injection engine seen in the Alfa Romeo 156 and like that car, this powerful, light weight unit use its supreme efficiency to provide the Alfa GT with strong performance, excellent economy and low emissions. Top speed with the JTS engine is 216 kmh and it dispatches the dash to 100 kmh in 8.7 seconds and to a kilometre in 29.2 seconds. In the European combined fuel consumption test it achieves 6.8 litres per 100 km, a remarkably low figure for such a stylish performance car.
With its best-of-both-worlds offering, the Selespeed gearbox combines the excitement of changing gears manually in the same fashion as a racing car, via paddles on the steering wheel, or the convenience of letting the system change the gears itself. But, unlike a conventional automatic, because the Selespeed is based on the manual gearbox, it offers the performance, economy and emissions of manual gearbox even when changing its own gears.
The Alfa Romeo GT JTS is, like its V6 brother, is spectacularly well equipped. Naturally there is the equipment you would expect in this market position, such as power windows, remote central locking with remote boot opening, full leather interior and a powerful sound system, trip computer, cruise control and heated front seats.
But each of these items has been honed to match Alfa Romeo’s requirements. Hand crafted, fine Italian leather is used on the elegant shaped and styled seats that offer both comfort and the lateral grip required in a sports car; the powerful stereo system is fitted with a Bose power amplipher and speakers, as well as a Bosch stacker CD unit and the ability to play MP3; the central locking includes auto-lock to ensure security; the readout on the trip computer may be changed to suit individual requirements.
Performance is nothing without safety and security and here, once again the Alfa Romeo GT has all the features expected of a car in this exacting class. Active safety features include the full range of electronic safety features, such as electronic stability controls (VDC, ASR and MSR) tuned to provide safety but without dampening down the driving experience, as well as the latest generation of ABS anti-lock brakes. Naturally, a responsive chassis aids accident avoidance, as well. Passive safety features are led by six air bags, crumple zones and an occupant safety cell.
Styled by Bertone, the legendary Italian styling house, the Alfa GT takes all the Alfa Romeo elements that have lead to the Alfa Romeo sports cars, the 147, the 156 and the 166 to be lauded for their unique elegance, style and eye-catching beauty and added their own unique additions to produce a car that is, quite simply a new byword for beauty.
The Alfa Romeo GT has been named the most beautiful Coupé in the World in annual awards that recognise excellence in car design and styling and which are awarded by a jury of the world’s leading car designers, artists, architects and engineers.
No less of an achievement is the interior and, like Alfa Romeo's existing range, it can be expected that this interior will, too, become a palette from which other car makers draw their inspiration. But few will match the clarity of view that Alfa Romeo provides to produce an interior that is both snug like a sports car and spacious like a sedan; stylish to the to ultimate level, but easy to use and ergonomic, in summation an interior that is always an occasion in which to sit, whether in traffic jam or on a favourite stretch of road.
But practicality has not been sacrificed at the altar or emotion. This is a coupé that is also remarkably practical. There is comfort for four people, space and seat belts for five, matched by a spacious boot of 320 litres, which may be enlarged by folding down the split rear seats and a through loading device only adds to the load carrying options. But there are also excellent detail features, such as the lockers on either side of the boot, the 12 volt power point located on one side of the boot and the polished chrome – who says practicality can’t also be beautiful – tie luggage down points.
“When the Alfa Romeo GT was launched last year, it was clear that it offered a remarkable combination of style, performance and value for money,” says Kevin Wall. “With the launch of the GT JTS Selespeed, we have enhanced ease of driving, boosted value for money and improved the cost of ownership without having any affect on the beauty of this fabulous car. With this combination of features and price we felt hat it was only fair to warn people that the GT JTS was at the Melbourne International Motor Show, so that they could start planning what they were going to do with the change from buying a car with million dollar looks for just $64,950!”
ALSO AT THE MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SHOW FROM ALFA ROMEO
ALFA ROMEO 147Alfa Romeo is the only marque to have two European Cars of the Year in its range at the same time and looking at the Alfa Romeo 147 it is easy to see why it is one of the winners. Alfa Romeo has proven yet again that it can provide its unique style, regardless of the size of the car, while the 2.0 litre 114 kW Twin Spark provides performance that is as exhilarating as it is effortless. The Ti adds an extra sporting edge.
147 TS 3dr / 2.0 litre 110 kW / 5 spd Manual / $38,500
147 TS 5dr / 2.0 litre 110 kW / 5 spd Manual / $39,500
147 S/S 3dr / 2.0 litre 110 kW / Selespeed / $41,500
147 S/S 5dr / 2.0 litre 110 kW / Selespeed / $42,500
147 TiTS 3dr / 2.0 litre 110 kW / 5 spd Manual / $39,990
147 TiS/S 3dr / 2.0 litre 110 kW / Selespeed / $42,990
ALFA ROMEO 147 GTA
This Alfa Romeo is much more than a hot hatch, with 3.2 litres of Alfa Romeo renowned V6 engine crammed under the bonnet it is the car for which the term “Hyper Hatch” was invented. Breath-taking performance, stunning good looks, racetrack bred chassis, the Alfa Romeo 147 GTA provides unrivalled excitement on even the shortest journey. New for this year is the option of a six speed Selespeed version to provide a new level of driving involvement.
147 GTA / 3.2 litre 184 kW / 6 spd Manual / $59,990
147 GTA S/S / 3.2 litre 184 kW / 6 spd Manual / $63,990
ALFA ROMEO 156
The Alfa Romeo 156, the second European Car of the Year in Alfa Romeo’s range, offers the choice of advance lean burn performance technology in the JTS engine or the silky smoother V6, a choice manual, Selespeed or Q-system automatics. All share the acclaimed 156 styling, the effortless performance of a race track bred chassis and equipment levels that leave rivals gasping. As with the 147, the 156 Ti adds an extra sporting edge to the equipment package.
156 JTS / 2.0 litre 121 kW / 5 spd Manual / $49,950
156 Selespeed / 2.0 litre 121 kW / Selespeed / $52,950
156 JTS Ti / 2.0 litre 121 kW / 5 spd Manual / $52,450
156 Selespeed Ti / 2.0 litre 121 kW / Selespeed / $55,450
156 V6 24V / 2.5 litre 141 kW / 6 spd Manual / $57,500
156 V6 24V / 2.5 litre 141 kW / Q-System / $59,950
ALFA ROMEO 156 SPORTWAGON
The Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon allows its owners to have their cake and eat it. On one hand there everything that the Alfa Romeo 156 offers in style, performance, value and driving excitement. On the other hand is the versatility and flexibility of a compact wagon, adding extra usability and taking away nothing. The rear door, thanks to its intelligent design, offers a wide opening that provides access to spacious boot that may be expanded by folding down the rear seats.
156 Sportwagon JTS / 2.0 litre 121 kW / 5 spd Manual / $53,500
156 Sportwagon / 2.0 litre 121 kW / Selespeed / $56,500
ALFA ROMEO GT
The Alfa Romeo GT has been acclaimed for its styling, effortless performance, long standard equipment list and value for money pricing. But for most people their first reaction on seeing an Alfa Romeo GT is “Wow” because it looks so good from every angle. Inside is room for five people and their luggage, making ownership of this ultimate Alfa Romeo coupe an easy decision. The new Alfa Romeo GT JTS makes all of this available at a new price point and, with Selespeed as standard, it has never been easier to be sexy in the city
GT JTS / 2.0 litre 121 kW / Selespeed / $64,950
GT 3.2 V6 24V / 3.2 litre 176 kW / 6 spd Manual / $79,990
ALFA ROMEO 166
The new Alfa Romeo 166 has its already good looking exterior enhanced by a new, stronger interpretation of the classic Alfa Romeo shield. The Alfa Romeo 166’s unique blend of Italian styling, exuberant performance, refined handling and roadholding all remain the same, as does another unique feature in this market sector: Value for money.
166 V6 24V / 3.0 litre 24v V6 / Automatic / $84,950
ALFA ROMEO BRERA
The Alfa Romeo Brera concept car was first seen at the Geneva motor show in 2002 and was true show stopper. For an encore performance Alfa Romeo revealed the production car at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show, revealing a car that has lost none of the aggressive style of the original car. When it arrives in Australia in the middle of 2006, the Alfa Brera will provide Alfa Romeo with an all-new range topping car that crystallizes everything that makes Alfa Romeo unique. Prices and specification will be announced when the Brera is launched.
Brera 3.2 V6 / 3.2 litre V6 / TBC / $TBC
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For further information, please contact
Kevin Wall
/ Tel: (02) 9701 8040General Manager / Fax: (02) 9701 3555
Alfa Romeo Australia / E:
Edward Rowe
/ Tel: (02) 9701 8015Public Relations Manager / Fax: (02) 9701 3555
Alfa Romeo Australia / Mob: 0407 913 244
E:
Alfa Romeo Media web site: